Media depositories are typically used in self-service terminals (SSTs), such as automated teller machines (ATMs) to receive and store media items deposited by customers. These media items include checks, cash (banknotes and/or coins), and other items.
The media items may be deposited either individually, or as a bunch of either cash or checks, or as a mixed bunch of cash and checks.
ATM owners prefer to restrict the footprint of an ATM because an ATM is typically located in an area of high value per square meter, such as a retail outlet or a bank branch. This means that there is a practical limit to the number of deposit containers that can be provided in an ATM.
It is desirable to segregate deposited cash and checks by storing cash and checks in different containers. However, it is difficult to predict the relative quantities of cash and checks that will be deposited at any particular ATM. Each ATM only has a fixed, and relatively small, number of deposit containers. As a consequence, it is difficult to predict the number of deposit containers that should be allocated for checks and the number of deposit containers that should be allocated for cash.
Once one type of deposit container (for example, checks) is full, then the ATM can no longer accept deposits of that type of media until a service person has visited the ATM and emptied the full container or containers. However, there is also a requirement to ensure that ATMs do not have to be serviced, replenished, or emptied (of deposited media, such as cash or checks) too frequently.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide an ATM having dynamic storage of checks and cash during use of the ATM so that storage of checks and cash can be optimized.